Be the right you for the right job

.

The story of Zablon

Preface

Contents

Introduction

Part 1

The choice to make a difference

Hi5 in a nutshell

The thumb

The story of Nicolas

The index finger

The story of Zainab

The middle finger

The story of Scholr

The ringfinger

The story of Neema

The littlefinger

The story of Hatibu

Part 2

Our partners

Theinterviews

Part 3

Typical Jobortunity

Opening of the school year

The PDP and Hi5 tracking system

Energisers

Projects

Pride of Tanzania

Part 4

The world could do with some more Hi5

How to benefit from Hi5

Team oftrainers

Kim Groeneweg

What the future will bring

Radius of connectedness

Results, facts and figures

Epilogue

The creators

Hi5 as a key to life Success stories of youth and companies in Tanzania

"The best way to educate is to value and promote the person more than

to teach techniques."

Thierry Mauvernay President of the Fondation Philanthropique Next

Probably the best development tool out of Africa

The story of Zablon Some time ago I was offered to tell you my story. I

proudly agreed to do so and I hope you will like it. My

life counts 32 years now and I live together with my

lovely wife Diana and our 2 boys. Life is now good to

me and so far I have been able to share some of my

happiness with other kids in Tanzania, whom Ihelped

to join Jobortunity. But it wasn’t always like that. Ten

yearsagosomethingchanged. Thisismystory.

My name is Zablon Loishouwack Ngira. Sure, feel

freeto tryagain. Iunderstandthatit’snoteasyto

pronounce if youdidnotgrow up in East Africa. Or,

just call me Zablon, like all my friends do.

I was born in Ambureni village, Arusha. The neighbor-

hood I grew up in was not the best place to start a life

full of prosperity. But I guess, even if we do not have a

choice in picking our place of birth, we can choose to

grab the opportunities that come our way. For me this

happened in the summer of 2009. One day I heard

through the vineyard that a Mzungu woman had

started a school for young people to learn a profes-

sion. Now, imagine yourself as a young man from

Arusha. What would you do? Well, I went up to

Moivaro without hesitation, but with a pounding heart,

to submit my application. And guess what, I was

accepted and a couple of weeks later I started my

training.

The classes, however, started very different from what

I had expected. Instead of getting some practical skills

I was confronted with learning about myself and how

to develop a professional attitude in work and life. This

wasn’t always easy but it changed my life completely.

Looking back on the past 10 years, what helped me to

become successful is having a positive attitude, a goal

in life, pride and loyalty and my trust in taking small

steps forward. This is Hi5 and it’s easy to remember,

because I work with my hands. Every day I use my fin-

gers to create wonderful food for people to enjoy and

everytime they remind me to be Hi5.Let me name you

some great places: Onsea House in Arusha, Ramada

Hotel and La Vinoteca Barcelona in Bahrein. It was a

pleasure to work there and today I’m with the BMMI

Group in Bahrein. I still remember that I was very

happy with my first salary of $ 25, but looking back it

turned out to be my first little step towards the $ 1440

I earn today. In my new job I look forward to my new

role in the kitchen as Head Chef. I do not know exactly

what my future will bring, but I have my attitude, my

goals and I’m full of confidence. If I, a boy from

Ambureni village, am able to achieve a good life, I

believe this is also possible for many other boys and

girls.

That’s why I have shared some of my fortune with

others. I have paid school fees for a couple of

Jobortunity students, such as my little brother who is

now working as a chef in St. Jude Arusha. I believe that

good luck should be paid forward in life.

‘Class of 2011’

‘Do not feel limited. Go out and shine!’

Introduction

‘‘Once upon a time, there lived a woman in a country

below the sea. She had a dream of going into Africa

to make a difference for young people in needof a

better life.’

It would be a great start of a fairytale, but instead it’s

just the beginning of a true story. This story is about a

Dutch lady that left for Tanzania to start a social busi-

ness, a training institute and ten years later she has

proved it’s reason for existence. Many young people

have graduated and found jobs in order to sustain

themselves and their dear ones. A lot of companies in

the hospitality industry have been blessed with a skilled staff, contributing to good business. A vast

heart and to take action. It offers you insights in Hi5

Tanzania, Jobortunity and all the people involved as

well as short stories that will turn a smile on your face.

So, how to read this book? Part 3 of the book opens a

window to our future and why we need more Hi5.

A new century started 20 years ago and gives us a

glimpse of the 21st century skills that are needed to be

appreciate real life stories to learn about the Hi5 train-

ing and development tool out of Africa, we

recommend to wander through parts 1 and 2 first.

In the first part Hi5 is explained in all its simplicity and

effectiveness and there’s a good chance that it will be

love at first sight. Like so many great ideas you might

say ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ When going through

part 1, take a regular look at your own hands to offer

life. We interviewed students, graduates as well as

trainers. We spoke to partners in business, sponsors

and others involved in making Hi5 work. Personal

statements that can also be viewed online by scanning

a QR-code that is offered in the story. This part of the

book also contains a selection of the typical tools that

Jobortunity is using to make learning fun and more

effective.

number of tourists have experienced karibu when vis-

iting Tanzania. At least, if they were smart enough to

book with a Jobortunity partner company and if they

were lucky enough to be served by a Jobortunity

‘It would be a great start of a fairytale, but instead it’s just the beginning of a true story.’

graduate. First of all this is a storybook.

Enjoy this book for whatever reason you decided to

open it. Be it curiosity, a love for Africa or anything

else. It is written to inspire you, to open your mind and

successful in this era. Authentic and sincere human

contact will emerge in business life among increasing

technological applications. So if you prefer to read this

part first, go ahead, no problem at all. But if you can

the text a place to land. When you are in doubt, or

criticism pops up in your mind, just raise your thumb

and try to see it from an opportunity point of view.

Part 2 is a mix of stories about how Hi5 works in daily

And last but not least we hope to touch you with

beautiful images that, however, are never as impres-

sive as the land and its people itself.

Hi5 in a nutshell: Probably the best development tool out of Africa

The thumb: Be positive and professional

Presenting yourself

Positive attitude & Open mindedness

Taking responsibility

Time management

Work ethics

The index finger: Have a goal and direction

Planning

Understanding & following instructions

Goal oriented

The middle finger: Stand out and be proud

Knowing yourself

Actively developingyourself

Self-confidence

Taking care of yourself

The ring finger: Be loyal and a team player

Being a team player

Relationship oriented communication

Problem solving and conflict management

Service minded

The little finger: Take little but smart steps

Life skills

Computer skills

Being pro-active / Flexibility

Effective work

Jobapplication

The thumb: Be positive and professional Sure, that’s easier said than done

‘Thumbs up’ is nowadays recognized as a positive

symbol in different cultures. Hi5 has adopted it and

for the students it goes without saying. Research

shows that in general positive people are more happy

and nicer persons to have around you.

It’s not hard to understand that having a positive atti-

tude will help you to deal more easily with problems

or setbacks. And because the latter are a part of daily

life, it’s quite handy to develop such a mindset. At the

same time many people respond to this by saying that

it’s easier said than done. You might conclude that

such a response is a sign of not being positive, but of

course there is some truth in it. Just knowing that a

positive attitude will bring you further in life is not

enough. Our behavior is mainly determined by our

subconscious mind, the areas in our brain where con-

victions, beliefs, feelings and memories reside. So we

have to change the wiring deep inside our brains.

Sometimes this can happen because of a dramatic

experience in our life, but generally it’s a process.

A positive mindset can be developed step by step.

Jobortunity offers this process by exposing the stu-

dents daily with positive and solution-oriented

approaches. And, consequently they develop a new

mindset, heartset and handset. Knowing, experiencing,

doing! There is no escape!

“Yes we can.” - Barack Obama -

The thumb is at the core of the Jobortunity approach.

Why is that? I, the author, asked the same question

when visiting Kim in 2010. ‘I will show you Hans,’ she

said. ‘If you raise your thumb you can touch every

other finger with it. You cannot do this with the other

fingers. At least this goes for most people,’ she added

with a smile. ‘And even if you manage to do so, you

will probably use the thumb to support one of the

other fingers.’ I instantly tried it and guess what: She

was right! Kim continued: ‘It means that a positive

attitude can help you improve all the other areas of

development in your life. It’s not the only thing to

work on, but without it, attending school at

Jobortunity is a hard job. We want to help these vul-

nerable young people to develop a strong character;

Self confident, ambitious, social and realistic. This is

quite a challenge that requires perseverance and

therefore a positive mindset.’

‘Be professional’ has been added to the thumb to

express that participating in the Jobortunity course is

about learning life skills, but with the aim to use them

in a working environment. Practical skills are part of

the curriculum too. Many students do not have experi-

ence in dealing with guests and colleagues when they

enter the training program. Considering the fact that

in working life they will also be confronted with multi-

cultural relations one can understand the importance

of having an open mind towards new situations that

will pop up when they start working in the hospitality

industry. Therefore a positive attitude is important in

personal and working life.

10

The big crossing

During the Great Migration in the Serengeti

we see many impressive spectacles. Who can-

not the picture the wildebeests crossing a

river filled with danger knowing it’s the best, if

not, the only way to go. For many young peo-

ple from a poor background it felt just like that

when they entered the Jobortunity premises.

An outsider might find it logic to grab each

opportunity for a better life, but it takes guts

to make a first step that you never took

before. Now, looking back, many are happy

that they took a jump. And they can be proud

they took this big crossing in their life.

12

How to benefit from Hi5 Jisikie huru kuungana nasi - Feel free to join us

After reading all the stories in this book, it’s not so

hard to understand that the Hi5 approach offers a

great tool for young people to have a bigger chance

for success in life. So let’s have a look at what

Wikipedia has to say about skills, abilities and learn-

ing dispositions as being required for success in 21st

century society and workplaces. We find: ‘21st cen-

tury skills are associated with deeper learning, which

is based on mastering skills such as analytic reason-

ing, complex problem solving and teamwork. These

skills differ from traditional skills in that they are not

primarily content knowledge-based. 21st century

skills are part of a growing international movement

focusing on the skills required for students to master

in preparation for success in a rapidly changing, digi-

tal society. And it’s also defined as a requirement for

success by educators, business leaders and govern-

mental agencies.’ For people who are young at heart

this new era is a call for action to not stay behind but

actively take part in building the future.

How can business benefit from Hi5?

The Tanzania government acknowledges that the

country suffers from what they call: the skills gap.

Increasingly, employers in Tanzania are frustrated by

the lack of soft skills among employees. But, let’s face

it, this issue does not confine itself to Tanzania.

This era is likely to be further dominated by rapid

developments in technology, such as artificial intelli-

gence and robotization. In the past 20 years we have

already made acquaintance with a growth in online

services, automized working processes, etc, that have

changed our way of living and working. The impact of

this will probably give rise to the need for more sin-

cere human contact, i.e. the ability to make contact

with another human being and to communicate in a

personal way. Therefore it’s not hard to imagine that in

such a world the human factor becomes a valuable

asset that makes a difference. Our most valued cus-

tomers will consider this in their choices.

But ‘the human factor’ is not just some application or

concept you can implement overnight into an existing

working process or company culture. It requires real

people with the right attitude to develop, implement

and feed it. An intrinsic motivation to be human. The

most talented employees will consider this in their

choices, as they wish to work for an organization or

company that will manage to be truly human. That’s

what we believe in. And this also raises the question

on how to add human meaning to work and life?

How society benefits from Hi5.

We live in times where there are many holes in society.

A quick view at the world shows that we have many

problems to address. Climate change, pollution, fossil

energy, over-population, famine, migration, poverty,

etc… And, if you take a closer look, all these issues are

inter-connected, have an impact on our well being

and that of all life on this planet. Humanity has faced

crucial periods in its existence before and we are fac-

ing one again today. Part of being human is also the

need to add meaning to life and work. ‘If you organize

your life around your passion, you can turn your pas-

sion into your story and then turn your story into

something bigger’ wrote Blake Mycoskie, the founder

of TOMS. Of course this is not just an individual issue,

but also a challenge for companies, organizations and

nations. The feeling of being part of something bigger

is a human need that will play an increasing role in the

future to come and that future starts today. There are

so many opportunities to contribute, so many holes to

fill, that the only question is which ones to choose.

People who feel connected find it easier to make that

choice. The world needs Hi5 people! Jobortunity

directly contributes to better lives and better business.

Indirectly, it contributes to a better country and a

whole new better world. That’s connectedness! Smile!

What Hi5 can offer practitioners in the field of

development.

Recently Jobortunity has been receiving requests from

NGOs, social businesses, private and government col-

leges, indicating that they are interested in

incorporating the Hi5 approach into their education

programs. The requests come from Arusha, Tengeru,

Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, but also from

Botswana, Uganda and even Cambodia. This presents

possibilities to expand the practice and impact of the

Hi5 approach which Jobortunity would like to tap into.

Today the Hi5 approach contains a full curriculum of

training methods that is aimed at developing students,

trainers as well as employees within companies. It also

offers instruments to manage the development pro-

cess. To contribute to a better world and to be of

service to so many organizations that can benefit from

Hi5, the people who form Jobortunity are eager to go

out and share their experience. The main challenge is

how to go about this in the best way? How to deal

with the intellectual property of an approach for

change that is a social good but also a source for

income generation? Moreover, the question arises

how to maintain and guarantee quality?

For Jobortunity this is a main point of interest and

exploration for the near future. The first step will be to

develop and start implementing a strategic approach

involving present partners and stakeholders in how to

run, sustain and reach more youth in and outside of

Tanzania and other target groups with Hi5 skills train-

ing and empowerment.

Karibuni! We welcome you to join us.